January 01, 2008

Two shows this year stand out as pure appointment tv. These series required no DVR’ing; the air time was burned in my brain - Showtime’s Dexter and AMC’s Mad Men.

Because of the rich setting, superb ensemble cast, and feature film production values, Mad Men edged out Dexter as my pick for the best scripted series of 2007. 42 year-old creator Matt Weiner (the Emmy-winning executive producer of The Sopranos) is channeling an intimate period piece, set circa 1960 in a Manhattan ad agency.

The Mad Men season finale contains one of the most memorable scenes in the history of television. Don Draper (Jon Hamm), the maestro of the Sterling Cooper agency, pitches Kodak on an ad campaign, using photos of his own beautiful wife and children as models.